Communication System Employing a Personal Assistant Server and a Personal Assistant Terminal

1. A communication system comprising: a plurality of user terminals operable by a corresponding plurality of users, the user terminals being connected to a telecommunications network; a “personal assistant” server connected to the network and capable of accessing a user database containing user-specific data or settings of the users so as to define user data; a “personal assistant” terminal connected to the personal assistant server and operable by a human attendant who can be communicatively reached, via the personal assistant terminal, by any of the users through a corresponding one of the user terminals and the network; and a data system, connected to the network and operative in response to the personal assistant terminal, for providing a pre-defined service, through one of the user terminals, to a corresponding calling one of the users who then requests the service; and wherein the personal assistant server, in response to an incoming call originating from the calling one of users and through said one user terminal and the network and to the personal assistant terminal, accesses, from the user database, the user data associated with the calling one user and applies the user data so accessed to the personal assistant terminal and connects, through the personal assistant terminal, the calling one user with the attendant such that, upon suitable instruction from the attendant through the personal assistant terminal and issued in response to a request from the calling one user for the service, the personal assistant server sends the accessed user data to the data system and the data system then renders the requested service to the calling user in response to the accessed user data.

2. The communication system recited in claim 1 wherein the data system comprises an e-mail system operable by the personal assistant terminal and responsive to the accessed user data.

3. The communication system recited in claim 1 wherein the data system comprises an electronic diary operable by the personal assistant terminal and responsive to the accessed user data.

4. The communication system recited in claim 1 wherein the data system comprises an information system operable by the personal assistant terminal and responsive to the accessed user data.

5. The communication system recited in claim 1 wherein the data system comprises an SMS system operable by the personal assistant terminal and responsive to the accessed user data.

6. The communication system recited in claim 1 wherein the data system comprises a fax system operable by the personal assistant terminal and responsive to the accessed user data.

7. The communication system recited in claim 1 wherein the data system comprises a unified messaging system operable by the personal assistant terminal and responsive to the accessed user data.

8. The personal assistant server for use in the communication system recited in claim 1 .

9. The communication system recited in claim 1 wherein the user database is also connected, via the network, to the user terminals such that any given one of the users can read or modify the user data associated with said given one user.

10. The communication system recited in claim 1 wherein each of the user terminals comprises a voice terminal, and the personal assistant terminal comprises a voice part and a data part, and wherein the personal assistant server, as a result of detecting the incoming call from the one user terminal, provides the accessed user data to the data part of the “personal assistant” terminal.

11. A personal assistant server for use in a telecommunications system, the telecommunications system having a plurality of user terminals operable by a corresponding plurality of users and connected to a telecommunications network, a “personal assistant” terminal being operable by a human attendant who can be communicatively reached, via the personal assistant terminal and the network, by any of the users through a corresponding one of the user terminals and the network, and a data system, connected to the network and operative in response to the personal assistant terminal, for providing a pre-defined service, through one of the user terminals, to a corresponding calling one of the users who then requests the service, the personal assistant server comprising: means for communicatively coupling the server to both the network and the personal assistant terminal; and means for communicatively coupling the server to a user database containing user-specific data or settings of the users so as to define user data; and wherein the server, in response to an incoming call originating from the calling one of users and through said one user terminal and the network and to the personal assistant terminal, accesses, from the user database, the user data associated with the calling one user and applies the user data so accessed to the personal assistant terminal and connects, through the personal assistant terminal, the calling one user with the attendant such that, upon suitable instruction from the attendant through the personal assistant terminal and issued in response to a request from the calling one user for the service, the personal assistant server sends the accessed user data to the data system and instructs the data system to then render the requested service to the calling user in response to the accessed user data.

12. The server recited in claim 11 wherein each of the user terminals comprises a voice terminal and the personal assistant terminal comprises a voice part, and the server further comprises means for recording and processing actual dialogues between the voice part of the personal assistant terminal and the voice terminal used by the calling one user.